Preparing for a digital future
CMU-Africa is developing context-aware security and privacy solutions for a more resilient African cyberspace. Faculty and students are focused on identifying and addressing serious cybersecurity challenges to national security, commercial performance, and public safety—all in an African context.
Through education, research, and community outreach, CMU-Africa is also working to spread awareness about trusted technology and build cybersecurity capacity in Africa.
Cybersecurity research focuses
- Assessing Africa cybersecurity preparedness
- Cybersecurity for financial inclusion
- Privacy-preserving information sharing
- Secure digital infrastructures: Digital ID, Digital Payment
- Security and privacy in low-resource environments (limited computation, limited connectivity, limited storage, and limited literacy)
- Secure digitizing of physical assets
Learn why cybersecurity is essential for the digital transformation of Africa
Cybersecurity projects at CMU-Africa
Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing of critical infrastructure and applications (VAPT)
Cybersecurity is important for all digital services, but particularly crucial for digital public infrastructure (DPI). Cybersecurity exploits can damage public trust in both the exploited infrastructure, as well as the organizations deploying it. In this project, our teams have run various analyses on DPI including ID systems, financial interoperability systems, and financial mobile applications. Our focus has been on applications that are either originating in Africa or deployed in Africa.
Recent projects:
- Analysis of 18 financial applications using the OWASP MASVSv2.0
- Secret key analysis of 224 top applications used by African mobile users
- Analysis of digital public goods (DPG) like MOSIP, and Mojaloop
- Collaboration with security vendors like Thales
Publications and articles:
Academic Security Operations Center
Today, there are few tools or environments for students to learn how to set up and operate a Security Operations Center (SOC)—not just in Africa, but globally. This project established a fully-functional SOC within the Upanzi Network Lab, to serve as both a training platform for students in the network, and as a tool for identifying vulnerabilities in the DPI that is studied by our lab. This SOC comprehensively monitors all lab systems, including critical DPGs and their interconnected infrastructure, including MOSIP, SMISHING, DHIS2, OPENDATA, and MOJALOOP. Leveraging a suite of open-source tools, the SOC maintains continuous monitoring over endpoint and network events, proactively addressing emergent cyber threats like malware and ransomware. The SOC additionally fosters a dynamic learning environment for CMU-Africa students. Through hands-on collaboration, students are provided with a unique platform to enhance their cybersecurity skills, gaining practical insights and experiences.
Server-side request forgery mitigation using artificial intelligence
Server-side request forgery (SSRF) is a type of attack in which an application server can be made to access or alter data that would otherwise not be accessible to the attacker. SSRF presents significant risks to the integrity and security of organizations. This project has conducted an empirical analysis of deep-learning-based techniques for detecting (and hence, mitigating) SSRF attacks. The study evaluates the performance of two distinct deep learning models, namely Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT), using a dataset of URLs from the CIC repository. In addition to evaluating existing techniques, we suggest exploring alternative deep learning models, considering hybrid approaches, and evaluating the adaptability and effectiveness of these models in diverse network environments. These lighter-weight approaches will be helpful for SSRF mitigation in low-resource environments.
Smishing data collection and detection in low resource languages
Smishing, a form of SMS phishing, is on the rise in Africa due to the widespread use of mobile phones. This malicious tactic involves deceiving individuals into divulging sensitive information or clicking on harmful links through SMS messages. Existing smishing detection methods are primarily designed for extensive languages like English, leaving a gap for local dialects in Africa. To address this, our study aims to collect SMS datasets tailored to local languages using a multifaceted approach. This includes establishing a honeynet infrastructure, implementing an SMS submission web portal, and collaborating with national-level Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) for SMS submissions via USSD codes.
The collected datasets will be used to train a machine learning model for detecting smishing messages on mobile devices, incorporating URL link analysis to enhance its efficacy. By leveraging these localized datasets and advanced detection techniques, our goal is to fortify mobile users in Africa against the increasing threat of smishing attacks, thereby enhancing overall cybersecurity and putting together the first smishing dataset in English and African languages.
picoCTF-Africa
Today, there are limited resources for African high school and college students to learn about cybersecurity. picoCTF-Africa is a free computer security competition for undergraduate and graduate students across the African continent, created by security and privacy experts at Carnegie Mellon University Africa. This competition is part of picoCTF, the annual computer security competition and learning platform created by CyLab Security and Privacy Institute. Participants of picoCTF-Africa are ranked on an African-only leaderboard within the annual picoCTF competition. The competition runs every year in March, and attracts over 1,000 students a year. Our team also runs training programs in individual schools to help prepare students.
African-themed cybersecurity comics for educating pre-teens about online safety
Today, there are relatively few resources for children to learn about online risks and techniques for protecting themselves. We are developing a comic book that introduces cybersecurity concepts to children. The comic book promotes awareness of various cyber threats, such as malware, phishing, hacking, and identity theft, teaching children about potential dangers and empowering them to safeguard their devices and personal information. The comic book also imparts best practices for cybersecurity and responsible online behavior, educating children on creating strong passwords, avoiding public Wi-Fi networks, and keeping software updated to enhance their defense against cyber-attacks. The book facilitates the development of critical thinking skills by presenting real-life cyber threat scenarios and prompting children to contemplate appropriate responses. Lastly, by infusing cybersecurity concepts into an entertaining narrative, the comic book contributes to the promotion of STEM education, inspiring children’s interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and encouraging potential careers in these fields.
CyLab-Africa
The CyLab-Africa initiative, a collaboration between Carnegie Mellon University’s CyLab Security and Privacy Institute and CMU-Africa, aims to improve the cybersecurity of digital systems in Africa and other emerging economies. CyLab researchers from CMU-Africa and CMU-Pittsburgh are studying the security, privacy, and equity of digital tools and services in Africa through a combination of research, education, and public outreach. Learn more about the collaboration, part of the Upanzi Network at CMU-Africa.
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